First Words Flashcards
Pre-Intentional Communication
Defintion
Age Range
No goal for communication.
0-8 months
Illocutionary Stage
Defintion
Age Range
Functions
Intentionality of communication but not through words
8-12 months
To obtain/get
To share/joint attention
Gestural Development
Age Ranges
Functions x4
9-13 months
Share:
show/hold up object
Initiate/maintain joint attention:
point to objects
Give:
hand/pass object to others
Obtain/Request:
hold out hand, open/close hand, guide adult hand toward object
Functional Gestures
Depict object through action
eg.
pretending to eat from spoon
pretending to talk on the phone
Symbolic Gestures
Represent concept
eg.
finger to lips for quiet
thumbs up for good
Gestures with Words
Age Ranges
12-18 months:
gestures OR words
18 months onwards:
gestures AND words
First Words with Gestures:
Reinforcing Gestures
Gesture matches information
eg.
points to dog and says “dog”
gesture=dog
word=dog
First Words with Gestures:
Supplemental Gestures
Gesture adds information
eg.
puts out hand and says “juice”
gesture=more/give
word=juice
Why use gestures?
Toddlers x 4
Adults x 1
Toddlers:
Compensate for articulation/phonology limitations
Facilitate word retrieval
Efficiency of communication
Free cognitive space
Adults:
gestures aid in comprehension
Phonetically Consistent Forms
x 4
Appear before first words
Consistent sound production
Refers to consistent object/event
Does not sound the same as adult word for same object/event
Locutionary Stage
Defintion
Age
Using words for intentional communication
Around 12 months
First Word Requirements x2
Must be symbol for referent used consistently
Must have phonetic relationship to adult word (may not be exact)
eg.
doos for juice
First Word Acquisition Considerations:
-Sound Productions
-Syllables
-Phrases
-Stress
Inconsistent production for same word may be possible
(ganda, gadad, gannad = grandad)
Words may be changed by syllable deletion
(banana= nana
Phrases may be combined into one word
(wassat= What is that?)
(allgon= All gone)
(ankoo= Thank you)
Words may have unusual stress patterns.
(Butterfly= bu-TU-fy)
Comprehension:Expression Gap
Receptive/Expressive Definition
Considerations:
Assessment + Development
Receptive (comprehended words)
Expressive (produced words)
are assessed separately
receptive vocabulary develops quicker than expressive vocabulary
Vocabulary Acquisition:
Norms and Trends
- pattern of development
- -18 month: average words
-Vocabulary Spurt
-Normal Ranges + Variability
-Girls vs Boys
Non-linear development
By 18 months= approx. 50 words
Vocabulary Spurt= after acquiring approx. 100 words (between 12-24 months)
Normal ranges are very large and variability is high
Girls typically outperform boys in language development until age of 3.
Owens Intentions of First Words:
6 Pragmatic Categories: CRESTP
Control:
want, demand, request, negate
Representational:
content questions, naming/labelling, statement, declaring, answering/replying
Expressive:
express state of attitude or exclaiming vocalisation accompanying action
Social:
greetings, farewells
Tutorial:
Repeating, practicing
Procedural:
Calling, getting attention
Intonation Contour:
Defintion
Examples:
Naming
Curiosity/Questioning
Surprise/Insistence/Greeting
Playful/Anticipation
The shape of sound patterns for different intentions
Naming:
flat contour
Curiosity/Questioning:
rising contour
Surprise/Insistence/Greeting:
high falling contour
Playful/Anticipation:
high rising contour
First Words are likely to be concrete from child’s environment.
Examples of categories first words may come from x5
First Word Bias for…
Important People: mum, dad
Daily Routines: bath, dinner
Animals: dog, cat
Regulatory: ta, up, no, more
Favourite Foods: juice, banana
Bias: objects that change and move in response to actions
First Words Semantics:
High frequency
‘mid’- general words
High frequency:
words used often by parents/caregivers with the child
Mid-general words:
Refer to entities that are not categories or overly specific:
eg.
dog (not animal or poodle)
car (not toy or ute)
cheese (not food or camembert)
Over-Extensions
Defintion
Examples x3
Over-uses a word in place of other words based on similar semantic category, features, or sounds.
Semantic Category:
Baby = all children
Features:
Ball = anything round
Sounds:
Cloud = clear, loud
Under-Extensions
Defintion
Examples x 2
Age
Uses a general word for only one specific thing or type of thing.
Specific:
Cup = special sippy cup
Type:
Shoe = only sneakers
Declines with age, can persist until approx. 3 years old
Why do over/under extensions exist?
x2
- Child has not yet fully developed semantic features: does not understand differences in categories or types.
- Difficulties with word retrieval or not knowing a specific word and choosing best close option
Semantic Roles:
Defintion
The relationship the word has to the verb/implied verb. The role of the word in the sentence: pre-grammar.
Semantic Roles:
Definition
Agent
Action
Affected
Location
Possessor
Possession
Attribute
Recurrence
Negation
Agent: doer of action
(daddy: daddy driving the car)
Action: event/verb
(eat: sister eating breakfast)
Affected: entity acted upon
(ball: brother kicking the ball)
Location: place
(bed: puppy sleeping in bed)
Possessor: owner
(Mummy’s: bringing mum her keys)
Possession: entity owned
(teddy: bringing the baby their teddy)
Attribute: characteristic
(hot: pointing to the oven)
Recurrence: repetition
(more: pointing to cookie jar)
Negation: rejection
(no: refusing to eat vegetables)
First Words:
Grammatical Categories x5
Percentages
Nouns: 60-65%
Verbs: <20%
Modifiers (Adjectives/Adverbs): 10%
Personal/Social/Greeting: 10%
Functional (articles, pronouns): 4%
First Words:
Phonology
Words that are easy to produce contain:
-common syllable structure
+ changes to CVC words
-sounds
type and articulation placement
Syllable Structure:
VC: up, eat
CV: no, ta
CVCV (reduplicated): mama (mum), wawa (water)
CVCV: doggie, bubbie (baby)
(CVC words may be turned into CV_ or reduplicated CVCV words:
duck= du_ OR duckie)
Sounds:
Stop/Plosive Sounds
1. Made by Lips
m, b, p
2. Tongue/A Ridge
t, d
Joint Attention
Joint Action
Joint Attention:
sharing the same direction of eye gaze, looking at the same object/event
(Look at the duckies on the pond!)
Joint Action:
Sharing an action, performing the same task together
(Let’s roll the ball to each other!)
Fast Mapping:
4 Steps:
Hears
Stores
Maps
Template
- Hears word for first time:
duck in the context of the bird - Quickly stores word with fast hypothesis for meaning:
duck refers to that type of animal/bird - Maps word to appearance, function, characteristics of object/event from that exposure:
fluffy, yellow, soft, quacks, swims - Uses this template for word next time word is heard:
retrieves “duck” and previously stored information about ducks
Mutual Exclusivity Bias
Definition
Example
Age Lost
The assumption that a new word must belong to an unknown object.
Example:
Child knows: ball, car, teddy
Child does not know: bunny
Child is playing with ball, car, teddy, and new bunny toys.
Child hears “where is the bunny?”
Child will look at the new toy bunny as it has no name.
ME Bias disappears from 17-22 months
Cross-Situational Statistical Learning
Definition
Language Learning Implications
Children track co-occurrence of a word and potential meaning across exposures/contexts to acquire knowledge of word meaning over time.
Exposures to multiple exemplars/versions help children to map words more quickly.
Negative Effects on Language Development from Research
Neglect x2
Birth+Pregnancy x2
Hearing Loss x1
Mothers x4
Family Structure x2
Neglect:
Essential needs not met
May have greater impact than abuse
Birth + Pregnancy:
Premature birth
Teratogens (alcohol, drugs, smoking,
low Vit D during pregnancy)
Hearing Loss:
Otitis Media/Ear infections
Mothers:
Low economic/less educated
Younger
Postnatal depression
Social isolation after birth
Family Structure:
Families with more than 5 children
Single parent families (possibly less favourable: mixed research)
